Public News

If you are a REGISTERED member of the East Kent Branch Grenadier Guards Association, please also log into the "Branch Members Login" area of this website and see the messages intended for registered member’s eyes only.

The following are for general awareness of all visitors to our website:

THE COLONELMessage posted: 01 December 2017

Dear All,

See below for a message from the Lieutenant Colonel.

“It has been announced today that Her Majesty the Queen has approved the appointment of His Royal Highness The Duke of York as Colonel, Grenadier Guards, in succession to His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh who retires with immediate effect.

On behalf of the Regiment, I congratulated The Duke of York on his appointment. As some of you may know, He visited the 1st Battalion in Aldershot at the end of October when He was warmly welcomed by all ranks. It was a tremendously successful visit and we now look forward to Him getting to know the rest of the Regiment in short order. I look to all members of the Regiment to help and play their part in making Him feel welcome.

At the Regimental Council meeting on 7th November, anticipating an imminent change of Colonel, I took the opportunity to thank The Duke of Edinburgh for all that he has done for the Regiment in the 42 years he was Colonel, in particular his patronage of the Colonel’s Fund which has so successfully raised and distributed funds to those in need. His has been a strong legacy, and we have been the richer for his wise counsel and consistent support. As I reminded him though, whether serving or retired, “Once a Grenadier, always a Grenadier”.

The Queen has kindly agreed to our request to mark the change in Colonel with a small parade, even suggesting we hold it in Windsor early next year. Planning is underway, and the Regimental Adjutant will keep us all posted on our part in it.

With my best wishes

Roly”

BATTLEFIELD TOUR 2018 - FRANCEMessage posted: 22 October 2017

Regimental Headquarters is pleased to be able to advise you of the plan made so far for thei 2018 Battlefield Tour to France with Anglia Tours.

In short, the cost per person (subsidised by the Regiment and the Association) will be £465 with an anticipated single room subsidy of £180. When you read the proposed itinerary (below) you will find this excellent value for money.

The itinerary provides you with a good idea of the content and what is/is not included. The detail of what they include on each day is still being worked on, but will concentrate on actions fought by the Regiment on the Western Front during the last year of the Great War.

In particular, the tour will examine the 4th Battalion’s desperate defensive battle at Hazebrouck in April 1918, when 4th Guards Brigade prevented the breakthrough of the Ludendorff Offensive through to the Channel ports, followed by the 1st Battalion’s attack on 27 September 1918, when as part of the general advance, within weeks of the armistice, the Guards Division fought its way across the Canal du Nord, on the Hindenburg Line. The Victoria Cross was won by Capt Pryce (posthumously) at Hazebrouck and by the Commanding Officer, Lt Col Viscount Gort, at Canal du Nord.

The tour is open to all Grenadiers past and present with wives/partners etc. and RHQ aim to fill a coach as far as they can. Honorary and Associate Association Branch members are also welcome.

Please familiarise yourself with the information below and let Major Andy Green know if you have any questions (bearing in mind where they are with detailed planning).

A deposit of £150 per person paid to Major Green by Friday 17 November 2017 (cheque to ‘The Grenadier Guards Association’ or by BACS to the Association account – 30-11-75 00341551 using reference ‘SURNAME BFT18’).

The balance paid to Major Green by Friday 20 July 2018 in the same manner above.

Provide Major Green with the necessary details listed on the APIS Form (also below) by Friday 20 July 2018.

Please advertise this tour as widely as you see fit.

In summary, the tour will travel to France 100 years after the end of the Great War during a busy and very poignant time of Remembrance and the value for money of this event is outstanding.

The following useful and important information provided below will add more detail:

Major (Retd.) AJ GreenAssistant Regimental Adjutant, Regimental Treasurer and General Secretary0207 414 3225
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

TOWELMessage posted: 22 October 2017

After the successes with their Grenadier Towel this summer, the London Branch of the Grenadier Guards Association has designed a new towel for Christmas and beyond.

Their Secretary had been asked by other Regiments to have towels done for them, but that would be taking to much of a chance to do that as he would have to buy so many.

He has therefore designed a Brigade of Guards Beach/Bath Towel with the cap badges and names of the five Foot Guards Regiments.

Just like their other Towel, it has never been seen before and can only be obtained from the London Branch, via their Ebay sales, from their Website (www.londonbranch-grenadierguards-association.com/…/…/7624437) and direct from the London Branch secretary himself.

He advises that buying via the Internet sources is £25.00 (inc P&P) each, but if you wanted two towels and provided you contact him direct, then you can purchase them from him for just £46.00 (inc P&P).

Congratulations to our Vice President, John G ("Algy") Cluff OBE DL who was awarded the OBE for services to business and to charity.

GRENADIER GAZETTE - 2018

Message posted: 20 June 2016

Any Branch member seeking to order a copy of the Grenadier Gazette 2018 is requested to contact the Hon. Secretary and add your name to his order list. Gazettes should be available from late March 2018, but requirements need to be with the Hon. Secretary by early January 2018; else you can order via the Grenadier Guards website once the detail is published.

We Were Brothers in Arms is an attempt to understand the experience of battle during WW2 through the personal experiences of the ordinary soldier.

Frank Clark has gathered together the amazing stories of British soldiers during the eleven months of frenzied warfare that followed D-Day, and combined them into this fascinating volume. As a veteran himself (serving in WW2, Korea, Malaya, Cyprus, Northern Ireland and during the Cold War), Frank is well versed in the adrenalin of battle, and here he brings together the tales of a wide cross section of fighting men on the front line. There are stories from the infantry, the assault troops who stormed the Normandy beaches and forced bridgeheads. The dashing reconnaissance men in their thin-skinned, tanks sending back vital radio reports; the parachutists, dropping behind enemy lines to fight, the sappers building bridges and clearing minefields under fire; the gunners, bringing down fast, furious and accurate barrages; the signallers, patching up communication links; the non-combatant stretcher-bearers, the doctors tending the wounded, the support services bringing up food and ammunition. This book tells their story of war, and reminds us why their sacrifice should never be forgotten.

We Were Brothers in Arms is a compelling account of the last months of war told through eye witness accounts, some never before published.

Frank has met all publishing costs, so by ordering though the East Kent Branch, RHQ or via the author (Frank Clark) will ensure that the full cost of the book is donated to The Colonel’s Fund Grenadier Guards (registered charity no. 1062257). Ordering via Amazon or the publisher of the book will mean only the profit going to the charity.

The 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards returned from Afghanistan at the end of October 2012 after a grueling but highly successful operational tour. Sadly, 5 Grenadiers were killed in action and there were 46 battle casualties, of which 11 were amputees. A Victoria Cross was won but sadly posthumously. Such a grim toll shows only too clearly that the task of helping our Grenadiers is sadly only just beginning and we will need to continue to raise funds into the future. Your purchase of Frank's book will help raise much needed funds.

To order a copy, please make contact with the East Kent Branch (via our Contact page) and we will provide detail on how to order.

Product details

·Paperback: 400 pages

·First Published: 1 December 2013

·Language: English

·ISBN-10: 1783061863

·ISBN-13: 978-1783061860

·Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.6 x 3.2 cm

·Cost for Paperback (unsigned): £16.99 + P&P

·Cost for Paperback (signed by the author): £20 + £2.80 P&P (sent by the author)

The Killing Zone

The latest book to be published by Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) RM Dorney MBE (one of our Vice Presidents) is available for purchase on the Amazon website.

It should also be available in all good bookshops and many supermarkets.

All profits from the sale of 'The Killing Zone' will be donated to The Colonels Fund Grenadier Guards and combat stress charities.

The Killing Zone is a detailed and personal account, from ground level of the 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards last tour of duty in Helmand province.